5GoldGlovesOF,75
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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75
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I'm not speaking for all the players, but as a dumb jock, myself, when I hear the term anti-trust, it says to me don't-trust the owners or their puppet, Rob Manfred (which literally means steal from men, Fred)...
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As a Red Sox fan, I prefer Xander, because he loves playing in Boston, while it seemed like Nomar hated it (at least at the end). But I have to admit Nomar was better: six times finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting to one time for X. For most of his Beantown years, Nomar also wasn't bad on D; nobody else could make that running, gunning 6-3 across his body. And those "Nomar's better" jeers were true, from '97-03... #5's dWAR 9.5... #2's dWAR -1.5...
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MLB didn't give out MVPs of the LCS yet, but most observers would agree Yaz was the Most Valuable Player of the '75 ALCS. He led the series in OPS at 1.318, led the Sox in batting at .455, and played great defense in left field, throwing out runners at 2nd and 3rd, and diving in the gap to prevent an extra-base hit by Reggie. In the '78 playoff, Carl gave the Sox an early lead when he pulled a homer off Guidry, who was capping the best season of any pitcher that decade (Hawk Harrelson went crazy in the booth, praising the old man stepping up in the big moment). Yaz also ripped his RBI-single off Gossage in the 8th inning, then scored the last run of the game...
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A couple other Big Papi postseason homers, both in the Bronx, that are forgotten by many but were absolutely huge when they were hit: ... Game 7 ALCS '03, top of the 8th, off lefty David Wells, brought in specifically to pitch to Oritz; it put the Sox up, 5-2 (but the horrific ending rendered it futile); ... Game 7 ALCS '04, top of the 1st, off Brown; it put the Sox up, 2-0, and silenced the crowd, coming immediately after Damon was thrown out at the plate. This showdown turned into a bombastic blowout, but Papi's HR gave Boston a lead it never relinquished, so technically it was his fourth game-winning hit of this postseason.
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I was just explaining that season to my son, who asks -- MLB take note -- every single day if the owners and players have an agreement yet and if there will be baseball soon... '72 sucked, but the Tigers won fair and square, taking the first two of the final three vs. the Sox in Detroit; it was basically a best-of-three, and once the Tigers clinched, both teams rested regulars in the finale that Boston won to finish a half game back.
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Yep, but it beats talking about how good the Yankees project to be if they're ever good again.
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I can't forget '74, either (as a horrified teenage fanatic at the time): Boston had a 7-game lead on August 23, still in first in September... but played 10-games below .500 and flopped into third place. Getting shutout four times in five days can do that to a club.
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ESPN did a Top 100 MLB Players of All Time list, and ranked Big Papi #63, two spots behind Yaz. They haven't released their Top 50 yet, but we can assume Ted Williams will be in there somewhere. Some would argue Ortiz is the most important and impactful Red Sox player of all time, as the linchpin in three World Series titles. His career WAR as a DH lags at 55.3 bWAR, compared to Yastrzemski's 96.5. For those who think Captain Carl was overrated as an all-around player, it's worth noting that he led the American League in WAR for two decades, 1961-79...
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Three runs on five total hits in Game 7; still would've been nice to have Rice swinging against Gullett and McEnaney... That A's club pre-free agency had the best supporting cast in the business, and are somewhat underrated by history, despite winning three rings in a row vs. the Red Machine's two. Though Cincy in '72 didn't have all its parts, either, before Foster and Griffey became stars in '75. And yet, who led the AL in bWAR from '69 through '74? Hint: Jackson was second, Yaz third.
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It's hard to win the World Series without your home run leader in the heart of the order, and Rice led the '75 club with 22. But Yaz was so good playing left field in the postseason -- where he moved from first base to fill in for Rice -- that it didn't seem at the time that the Sox could've done any better. At least, it didn't feel that way... except when Cecil Cooper batted. Coop, who had an underrated season (.311 BA, .899 OPS), was Yaz' replacement at first base and the worst hitter in the World Series: 1-for-19.
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Good thing the AL East's best playoff team doesn't also have an ace starter vying for his first full season after Tommy John surgery... or an ace reliever trying to come back from his own diced pepper surgery. -
A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like they use some sort of metrics for these rankings. If so, how are the third-place, wild card-choking Yankees the favorites AGAIN? Did they make ANY improvements to their injury-prone pitching depth or weak-ass defense? Or are rankings just based on how many big bucks new guys NY is expected to sign in the mythical window before the mythical '22 season? -
Some of these guys at the bottom, as you know, were above-average defenders, so may not deserve to be on a thread of "worst" players. Griffin, Pena, and Burleson won Gold Gloves in Boston, where the Rooster also was a three-time All-Star who received MVP votes in four seasons. Barrett is overlooked now, but was one of the leaders on the field for the '86 AL champs, and hit 24-for-60 in that postseason. Maybe they weren't great, but they also weren't Gorkys Hernandez or Chris Owings...
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I was serious when I said the Red Sox may expect continued progress from Dalbec. It's maybe one of the reasons they felt they could part with Renfroe. It also makes Bobby D. a more valuable trade chip -- and obviously, the most expendable, depending on Boston's timetable for Casas... which is also partially to be determined by service time agreements yet to be settled during the clockout.
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Franchy probably didn't even have 140 PAs but it seemed like 140 games. Santana pinch hit close to 140 ABs in the playoffs and struck out every time.
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... hits homers and strikes out -- what more do you want from a big leaguer?
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I didn't say one-for-one; he's actually more likely to be part of a multi-player before the season -- whenever that is. And even if, any pitcher they get is also more likely to be someone we've never seen before or maybe heard of.
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No, more likely to be platooned with Casas, or traded for pitching as part of an overhaul... or rotated at DH if JD is dealt.
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In his last five years as a Red Sox regular, Bradley was a slightly below-average hitter and an above-average fielder. He was never a platoon player... though his career may soon be trending there. If Suzuki is an unlikely option, maybe Bloom's first big contract goes to a guy he already likes: Schwarber, who will play LF, with Verdugo sliding over to RF, with Duran as the fourth outfielder. Maybe the Sox are counting on continued progress from Dalbec to fill the righty power void (from trading Renfroe), for now. If midseason changes involve promoting Casas, then other personnel changes will probably come with that, as well.
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Maybe there should be a special website -- let's call it talksox -- for posters to report anyone with a critical Red Sox theory.
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
He weighs 265, so it would probably take a triple team of El Guapo, Big Panda, and an enraged Incredible Houck. -
Hopefully, the same can be said about the rotation and bullpen...
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I also feel guilty to families and friends of guys I named, but not to the players, themselves. First, all won World Series rings (Smoltz, Gagne, Morales, Mendoza), so a few boos come with the badge, along with the ultimate cheers and hardware achieved at the pinnacle of their careers. Second, opinions posted on this forum carry the kind of credibility that arguably comes from among the Worst Fanatics Who Never Played for the Red Sox or Any Other Professional Sports Team... ... and if we're not the worst, the best we can say is we're tied for the Best Who Never Made It.
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Mazza gave up the longest home run I've ever seen, and then the Rays traded for him...
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Maybe these guys don't qualify, since most were winding it down, but ones that came to mind include Eric Gagne and Ramiro Mendoza, two relievers with 6.75 ERAs in Boston, and Franklin Morales for one postseason game. But none were as bad as John Smoltz: 8 starts, 40 IP, 8.33 ERA... ps. I'm ignoring pitchers from 2020, because this thread is ostensibly about big leaguers.
